I'm pretty sure that Burners can best appreciate the mind-blowing nature of this:

Two weeks ago I developed Acute Axonal Motor Nueropathy. Essentially, I contracted a virus that either attacked my nerves itself or tricked my own immune system into doing the damage. I spent a week in the hospital and had 3 immunoglobulin infusions to help my immune system fight the virus. With time my nerves will regenerate and with physical therapy I will get back to 100%. It was very scarey, but for a time they thought I might have MS which would have been infinitely worse.

So here's the mind-blow. Immunoglobulin takes the antibodies from blood donors plasma. Each dose is made from about 1,000 plasma donations. I've had 3 infusions so far, and will have at least 2 more before I make it back to the playa. I can't stop thinking about the fact that I have a a little bit of 3,000 people inside me. Next year I will be sneaking 5,000 people through Gate. If this doesn't speak to the nature of community and humanity, I don't know what will.

I saw dramatic improvement after my antibody infusions and I'm eternally grateful to the donors that made my recovery possible. You better hold on to your hat donors cause you're all going to Burning Man!!!!

Damn Jcliff, I'm glad to hear you're improving! What a frightening thing to happen. I love your attitude about the transfusions - what a great way to see them! I do, however, want to be there when Gate has to frisk your veins...

It's a camping trip in the desert, not the redemption of the fallen world - Cryptofishist

MyLarry must donate blood to treat his hemachromatosis. For years the FDA would not accept it because it was a therapeutic draw, but now they can use it. Gallons of blood incinerated, when first diagnosed, he had a pint a week drawn, for 26 months.

(Here is another Public Service Announcement on this topic, seems it fits so well with Jcliff's success story.)

After you have donated blood for a while, the blood bank starts giving you T-shirts commemorating the total number of gallons you have given. So whenever I feel the World is ignoring me and I don't feel like blowing up a building for attention that day, I put on a blood bank T-shirt and go to the grocery store. For every $30,- worth of groceries I put in the basket, one person breaks into a smile, reads off the number of gallons posted on the shirt and generally chats me up in a cheerful style.

Elliot wrote::D (Here is another Public Service Announcement on this topic, seems it fits so well with Jcliff's success story.)

After you have donated blood for a while, the blood bank starts giving you T-shirts commemorating the total number of gallons you have given. So whenever I feel the World is ignoring me and I don't feel like blowing up a building for attention that day, I put on a blood bank T-shirt and go to the grocery store. For every $30,- worth of groceries I put in the basket, one person breaks into a smile, reads off the number of gallons posted on the shirt and generally chats me up in a cheerful style.

More successful than learning to play guitar

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man" Dr Johnson